For a family of four that wanted
to stay out of the suburbs,
combining two condos gave
them the indoor and outdoor
space they needed

The charming neighbor- hood of Boston’s Bay Vil- lage is a hodgepodge of 19th-century row houses and early-20th-century Art Deco o;ce buildings erected by movie studios as film distribution centers. Although the vicinity is close to the Theatre District and the Public Garden, changes
to the city’s infrastructure eventually le; it
disconnected from surrounding neighborhoods — and residents here prefer it that way.

“It’s a secret,” says Jeremy Macdonald, who with his wife, Justine, purchased a
Bay Village condo in 2008. “A lot of people
still don’t even know it’s here.” They made
the decision during the economic downturn,
when buying real estate in some of the city’s
most desirable neighborhoods was an option
for the couple. “But I still felt Bay Village was
the best place to be in the city,” says Jeremy,
who for years had lived in Boston’s Back Bay.
That he could walk to work in 20 minutes was
a bonus.

Their unit was one of three on the top
floor of what was once the Columbia Pictures
building, a cornerstone property in the heart
of Bay Village. (Stone lion heads decorate the
former MGM Studios across the street.) The